Depending on the range you are shooting, you might want to be careful shooting deer in the shoulders with a 300 win mag. If you want truly major expansion and LOTS of damage, then nearly any conventional jacketed bullet like Winchester, Speer, Hornady or Sierra will certainly do the job in spades. But its likely to be a serious mess. Depending on range and velocity and grain weight you could end up destroying LOTS of meat with say a 150 -165 gr bullets at well over 3000 fps at close range. I have shot quite a few caribou and a couple black tail deer with the 300 win and you can wreck a lot of meat - like most of a shoulder with conventional bullets at under 100 yards. The meat will be blackened with blood throughout the muscle fibers, massive globs of blood between the mucsles and generally unfit to eat. Bone chips can be found scattered through the wound and often the shoulder blades will be badly shattered.
I hunt for meat and I don't like that kind of mess or waste.
After getting excessive meat damage with several brands of conventional 165 gr bullets, I went to 180 gr Nosler partition bullets at about 2900- 2950 for most of my hunting. The animals go down solidly but I wreck far less meat.
I haven't shot any game with X bullets or Triple shock, but I'm testing X bullets right now.
Friday I shot some test loads in my 300 win using uncoated, 180 gr flat base X bullets at about 25 degrees F. 3 each at 71, 72, 73 gr of H 4831, Rem Brass, CCI mag rifle primers. My velocities were 2800 to 2860 fps, and accuracy was incredible - .75 to 1.2 3 shot groups at 100 yds. Velocity is a little low for a 300 win but accuracy was fantastic. Given what the Barnes 3 manual says, I should be able to get higher velocities with other loads.
The main idea of Barnes X and Triple Shock (& Nolser partitions) is to get enough expansion, yet lots of penetration, without destroying lots of meat at close range as well as at 400 yds. For overall good performance, Barnes X bullets have gained a big following and you should give them a try. If they shoot accurately in your gun they should do a good job without the terrible mess a conventional jacketed bullet makes.
